EA starts a new project on baby turtles
Published: 06:06 PM,Jun 22,2025 | EDITED : 10:06 PM,Jun 22,2025
EA starts a new project on baby turtles
Muscat: The Environment Authority (EA) has initiated a new project at the Ras Al Hadd Turtle Reserve to track baby sea turtles, also known as hatchlings. This project involves monitoring the number of hatchlings emerging from nests and studying the factors that influence their migration towards the sea.
The project's main objectives are to assess environmental interventions, create protection strategies, enhance national capabilities in environmental monitoring, and improve the database to support scientific research and decision-making.
Dr Mona al Tarshi, the project manager and Environment Ecosystem Specialist at the Environment Authority, explained to the Observer that the project aims to tag sea turtles and their nests to analyse nesting success rates. This involves collecting data on nesting frequency, hatching rates, and environmental factors impacting turtle reproduction at the Turtle Reserve in Ras Al Jinz and Ras Al Hadd.
Currently, the team is tagging turtles and numbering nesting sites, with hatchlings expected to emerge in the next 60 days. A typical sea turtle nest can contain 80 to 120 eggs, with the green turtle being the most common nester in Oman's Ras Al Jinz and Ras Al Hadd areas.
Dr Mona mentioned that green turtle nests usually contain 90 to 110 eggs, with an average hatch rate of 70 per cent to 80 per cent under natural conditions. This results in approximately 60 to 90 hatchlings per nest, although this number can vary based on environmental factors and threats like predation or flooding.
When asked if the study is limited to Sur, the project manager clarified that the current focus is on the coastal regions of Ras Al Jinz and Ras Al Hadd in South Sharqiya. However, she noted that similar studies could expand to other nesting sites in the future based on available resources and collaboration opportunities. In Oman, significant nesting sites for sea turtles include Masirah Island, known for being one of the largest nesting sites for loggerhead turtles, as well as Al Daymaniyat Islands, Ras Al Jinz and Ras Al Hadd.
Baby turtles encounter various natural and human-induced threats on their journey to the sea. Dr Mona highlighted threats such as predation by birds, crabs, and stray animals, light pollution affecting hatchlings' navigation, beach erosion, habitat disturbance from tourism and construction, and climate change impacting nest temperature and gender ratios. Once in the sea, hatchlings face marine pollution like plastic debris that can be ingested.
The project's main objectives are to assess environmental interventions, create protection strategies, enhance national capabilities in environmental monitoring, and improve the database to support scientific research and decision-making.
Dr Mona al Tarshi, the project manager and Environment Ecosystem Specialist at the Environment Authority, explained to the Observer that the project aims to tag sea turtles and their nests to analyse nesting success rates. This involves collecting data on nesting frequency, hatching rates, and environmental factors impacting turtle reproduction at the Turtle Reserve in Ras Al Jinz and Ras Al Hadd.
Currently, the team is tagging turtles and numbering nesting sites, with hatchlings expected to emerge in the next 60 days. A typical sea turtle nest can contain 80 to 120 eggs, with the green turtle being the most common nester in Oman's Ras Al Jinz and Ras Al Hadd areas.
Dr Mona mentioned that green turtle nests usually contain 90 to 110 eggs, with an average hatch rate of 70 per cent to 80 per cent under natural conditions. This results in approximately 60 to 90 hatchlings per nest, although this number can vary based on environmental factors and threats like predation or flooding.
When asked if the study is limited to Sur, the project manager clarified that the current focus is on the coastal regions of Ras Al Jinz and Ras Al Hadd in South Sharqiya. However, she noted that similar studies could expand to other nesting sites in the future based on available resources and collaboration opportunities. In Oman, significant nesting sites for sea turtles include Masirah Island, known for being one of the largest nesting sites for loggerhead turtles, as well as Al Daymaniyat Islands, Ras Al Jinz and Ras Al Hadd.
Baby turtles encounter various natural and human-induced threats on their journey to the sea. Dr Mona highlighted threats such as predation by birds, crabs, and stray animals, light pollution affecting hatchlings' navigation, beach erosion, habitat disturbance from tourism and construction, and climate change impacting nest temperature and gender ratios. Once in the sea, hatchlings face marine pollution like plastic debris that can be ingested.